It’s on the Discovery Channel and comes across fairly real. I still mostly eyeball Discovery, the History Channel, sports and news. I like real shit and when a show purported to be real seems like it’s not (a few other motorcycle shows etc) they become my “unfavorites”

So we have yet another motorcycle build off with Senior trying to show he is better than his son, Junior. The Teutuls. American Chopper that later became named other titles for television as Dad later fired his son, and then pretended Junior just didn’t come to work one day.

Then Dad sued his son and pretended that he did not. And it all played out on television for the last decade on he Discovery Channel.

And last year they had the build-off to see who could build the better bike in the midst of Senior vs Junior which was actually the name of the show for a while.

I used to like the show, I even liked some of their bikes, but it was about the relationships in the family. It was that strange. In fact it was so strange who do you add to the bike build off to jazz it up boys & girls? Jesse James you say? Really? The Bad Boy of bike building. Well, maybe he once was. He started TV bike building. And then he did all of his Hollywood things.

Last year, as you know, Junior won. Jesse was second and Senior??? He came in about #98 in a man competition. Everyone else got like 250,000 votes. Senior got one vote. He built a tank. Not a car, not a bike, a tank on a track. It was an interesting vehicle. It was not a motorcycle and he should have been disqualified.

This year who wins? Jesse still talks shit. Senior still talks about what a dick his son is. Junior is still pretty quiet but he gets involved in some of the arguments this time. And who do you add to Jazz it up? Gas Monkey Garage. They have talked on the show that they build bikes and they worked on one once. They are pretty funny.

Jesse James blows off the bike building deadline. They give him an extra two weeks. Senior enjoyed the extra two weeks and put in the full 14 days on his bike. Junior didn’t seem surprised. Gas Monkey went crazy and wanted Jesse disqualified.

Then Jesse blew off the two-week extension and four weeks AFTER the extension was over….Jesse’s bike still was not finished. Did not run. Or something. So the question in Vegas was “Is Jesse here” “Is JJ’s bike here?” “Does it run?”

Yes, he was here in the gambling haven. Yes his bike was here. Yes, his bike runs. The question?? Should Jesse be disqualified? They decide to let the other builders determine Jesse James’ fate. Of course, for the sake of TV they all agree to let him compete. It has always been the way builders in the real Biker-Build-Off series came down with folks who were late. The bike is the important thing and the bike didn’t do anything wrong so let the competition continue.

Who won? Junior of course. Second, Gas Monkey Garage. Third, Jesse. 98th, Senior. The same one guy from last year also voted for Senior this year.

Next year? Well. American Chopper, the Senior vs Junior show this season, will not be back next year. On the Discovery Channel.

Will Jesse’s show still be on TV? Probably not. And Gas Monkey? Probably will.

December 6th will be a live show in Las Vegas and the winning bike will be revealed.

This event is on the Discovery Channel and the American Chopper series, which didn’t invent motorcycle shows but certainly helped make them famous and set off the biker build-off events and shows of various stripes with the help of the King and the Mayor, Jesse James who did invent bike building television.

The Teutul’s got locked into building theme bikes, some really good-looking theme bikes for like the last twelve years. But the show became all about Senior getting red in the face screaming at Junior. That’s all the show really was until Senior fired Junior. He seems to forget that he fired his own son (again) and says that Paul junior “left” or “got laid off” or “forgot to come back to work”, but he fired Junior.

And after a year during which Paul Senior and OCC prevented Junior from being able to build a motorcycle, the Discovery Channel eventually promoted a Sr vs Jr build-off which Junior won handily and the Discovery Channel pretty much ignored. Seems they had all their chips riding on Senior.

So now we have a three-way build-off. Sounds interesting because PJD then builds some nice bikes and we have Jesse James….a real bike builder, in the mix.

I’m not sure what OCC is building. They seem to spend most of their time on the show bad-mouthing Junior. How long can you do that and what does it have to do with building quality bikes?

Jesse will bad-mouth them both, but he really is a bad boy. Junior isn’t but doesn’t try to be. Senior tries to be but it doesn’t fit.

My guess?? It will be PJD vs Jesse with OCC there for some color and trouble-making.

The winner? Could go either way, but I think PJD could sneak a win here as the underdoggie.

We will be back here for the December 5th show and the December 6th unveiling in my 2nd home, Las Vegas.

I wish they would let the History Channel’s Danny ‘Count’ Koker join in on this building frenzy/fun. That would make for a show.

When it comes to bikes how can you not be a Jesse James fan? For fabrication skills alone both Tuetuls should be scared cuz JJ will not take a back seat. He planned from the start to fabricate every single piece of metal and frame by himself. And that means manual machines. No pretty-boy machinery in this shop.

Check out his photos from the build HERE Nice bike. I sure miss the old Monster Garage days.

A Frisco machine in all its’ glory. Do you know the Frisco bikes? Check out this article. It explains how geography often determines a bike building style. Car building too but thi is about bikes.

And definitely view the interview with Trevelen. Besides being a bike-building genius the man know and lives his history. Right on bbrother T.

And so it is that the old Frisco bikes became the West Coast choppers style all the way.

Paul Teutul Jr and PJD

Paulie was always much more skilled than Senior gave him credit for on the show. I guess partly because it was a storyline in the show or partly because of Sr’s screwed up behavior. But he learned to design and build some nice machines. And even better ones at PJD as early as it still is.

Nice show, getting old after a decade even with the split. Lots of talented peeps here though but the “theme” focus limits their growth. Must be hard to work at OCC. Where else can you get the opportunity to build a lot of bikes, get on TV, make tons of money and get a rep of your own. And it tastes so good you can’t leave even though you hate to go to work each day?

Have you been watching this all fucking day long American Chopper marathon?

I have been in and out all day, but each time I make it in the TV room the Teutul’s are still on. That’s what more than a decade of TV shows will do. plus how it would screw with your head.

I will watch tonight and tomorrow though, because I want to see the bikes…

Two nice bikes and one…whata-ya-call-it. I like the OCC wuteva but it’s not a motorcycle.

So it’s between PJD and JJ.

JJ may be even a little crazier now but there were some funny ass moments.

I follow Jesse on Twitter but somehow I missed the video parody on Jr. Too funny.

I like PJDs bike a lot. The look is amazing and there is only one thing I don’t care much for—the wood in the wheels. I get it and it fits the theme. To me it almost looks more like an old wood boat but that’s just me.

Jesse’s bike is sweet. I would love to ride it. And that red is amazingly deep.

the winning bike was by Paul Jr Designs (PJD). I didn’t watch the entire show last night had some other stuff going on but I did pick the winner after seeing all three machines. check the link above.
All three were good builds but all were so different from design perspective all the way to technical build that it is almost ahmeful to pick one over the other.
I have to hand it to the OCC crew for coming up with something like their Track machine. Amazing, didn’t think they had this in them.
And it is great to see the Mayor Jesse James building motorcycles again. This is where he belongs and he built one sweet machine. Plus he has grown up enough he admitted his ego got in the way a bit. If he had realized this a bit earlier he might have won.
And nice job Paul Jr and the crew for another Discovery Channel Build-off win.
Now maybe we can stop these contrived Sr vs Jr bullshit buildoffs. If Sr can’t admit what his son can do (win?) then take him off television. His shit got old 4 years ago.
Good job to the metal boys and engine tuners on each team!!!

Here is an articlefrom Inside TV. Big TV ratings for the show especially last night (Part 2) so we can probably expect more of these contrivances. It’s the 2nd highest rated episode EVER in the 10+ year history of the show. So…

I like the guns. I don’t like the show. I try to put up with it because they show a lot of “regular” guns vs Sons of Guns which mostly shows custom weapons that I would never get a chance to buy. Or shoot.

But the firearms that Red Jacket manufacturesand sells are different. Like that great combat 1911. I can buy one of those!!

It is getting harder for me to watch the American Chopper TV series. First, there are other options on Monday night, especially with the NFL back. Second, the whole Sr/Jr thing has just worn me down to the point it’s not as good as it used to be. So, I watch but I am not really a fan.

That said, here is a little video about the Gears of War trike. I do really like this build because it looks so unfucking real. I was getting tired of OCC’s “theme bikes”, they all began to look so much alike and I tend to like custom choppers that are street driveable. Which makes many of the bikes from the Discovery Channel’s Biker Build-Off series much better to me.

But this post is about the trike, so let’s get back to it.

The trike was unveiled at the 2011 Comic-Con convention. check this out as Paulie, Jr. drives it in past the crowd. The bike/trike is unfucking-believable! Check the reactions of the crowd.

Here is the trike and Paulie walking thru the details. I love the rims and tires and the crash bars on each side.

Paul says “This bike is massive”, and so it is. This clip has a few segments of the prior one but stands on its own.

American Chopper Aftershow: If you haven’t seen them yet there are Aftershow segments posted on the Discovery Channel website with the staff discussing events on the show (and sometimes things we don’t see on the show) and answering questions from the fans. Check the Aftershow out here.

Bike EXIF describes their site: “This site offers a dose of the coolest motorcycles, several days a week. That means custom motorcycles, classic motorcycles, cafe racers, racing motorcycles and style icons. I’m passionate about design, photography and classic motorcycles, and Bike EXIF is a way to combine all three—and connect with other people who share the same interests.”

I really like this site and I follow them on Twitter @BikeEXIF. They offer daily updates by e-mail (sign up on their site) and they have a Facbook page. Very connected! And they love Moto-Guzzi‘s. Check this one out.

A & R was founded in 2008 and has quickly become a leading voice covering news of the motorcycle industry including the business end of designing and building motorcycles. They are becoming deeply involved in the budding electric motorcycle industry. It is predicted that within 20 years the majority of bikes being built will be electric. What a shocking change that will be.

Interested in the future of electric motorcycles? One place to check out is Brammo They are on Twitter @BrammoSays and @BrammoForum I’m a motor head but they have some great looking bikes with surprisingly good specs.

Vinnie always made me laugh when he was working at OCC and he is a master technician and mechanic. He was instrumental, along with Rick Petko, in building those great custom theme bikes. Cody joined OCC at like the age of 16 and they treated him like the youngest son including giving him a nice bike that Cody & Paul Senior designed and built (Note: I was wrong. Cody is now suing OCC & Paul Sr for a number of reasons including the fact that he never was physically given the bike he built. Sr “gave” the kid the bike on the TV show but apprently took it back or changed his mind or just never followed thru??? Hard to tell with Sr, but Cody didn’t get the bike so he is now suing as of February 2012) plus sending him to motorcycle mechanics school and taking him down to Daytona for Bike Week when he was still a teen. What a ride for a kid.

Vinnie and Cody also build bikes under their own brand, V-Force Customs. You often see Vinnie now wearing V-Force hats on the American Chopper show.

Trevelen is an artist and builds some sweet ass bikes. His biggest influence was his dad, Benji “The Flyin’ Hawaiian” Rabanal. who raced flat-track bikes, boxed and surfed competitively in the 50s & 60s. A lot of folks used (and still use) The Flyin’ Hawaiian nickname.

They were first discovered in 1939. But only 10 people in the whole frigging world have ever seen one. There’s a lot of stuff in the ocean that we have never ever seen. These Barreleye Fish are so strange you wish you had not seen them. They also call them spook fish. I guess cuz they really spook you out.